Wednesday, March 31, 1999 Published at 10:02 GMT 11:02 UKEntertainmentBond in actionBrosnan's stunt double races down the ThamesSecret agent James Bond is back in action - as a stunt double for Pierce Brosnan films fast action scenes on the River Thames in London.

It is thought that the scenes will form part of the climax of the opening sequence to new Bond film The World Is Not Enough, which sees the agent fall onto the roof of the Millennium Dome from a hot air balloon.

The balloon carries a Bond villain, played by actress Maria Grazia Cucinotta.

A crew from production company Eon has been working at the Dome next to the Thames at Greenwich, south London, preparing the scenes and making up the £750m structure to look as if it is already open.

Pierce Brosnan: The World Is Not Enough is due out in November

The stunt shows Bond has lost none of his old ways - he is seen pursuing a woman along the Thames in a high-speed boat chase.

Some of the more difficult scenes are being filmed at Pinewood Studios, Buckinghamshire, where parts of the Dome roof have been recreated.

Production began in January on the £70m movie, which is scheduled to reach cinema screens in November. Other stars include John Cleese, Robert Carlyle and Oscar-winner Dame Judi Dench.

Meanwhile, Hollywood studio Sony Pictures has given up its legal battle against MGM for the right to make its own Bond movie.

MGM, home of 007 for the last 37 years, filed a suit against Sony in 1977 over its plans to make a Bond film.

The case had been scheduled to go to trial next month, after years of wrangling, but Sony has settled out of court, after MGM paid it £3.1m to buy the rights to 1967 Bond spoof Casino Royale.

The film starred David Niven, Peter Sellers, Woody Allen, Deborah Kerr and Orson Welles. MGM can now remake the picture if it wishes.